SEPT. 1 (Reuters) — U.S. stocks ended the day lower on worries about China’s economy and the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike.Investors now await new economic reports for signals that might influence the Federal Reserve.
S&P Capital IQ’s Sam Stovall: “I think, data this week is fairly key, because we heard from three of the FOMC voting members last week, all of whom are a bit hawkish, and were saying, look, the starting of a rate tightening program is not necessarily off the table for September.”
The Chicago PMI business index fell slightly in August, but showed that the economy in the Midwest continued to grow at a moderate pace.
Meanwhile, shares of Netflix slipped after the company decided not to renew its agreement with Lionsgate-owned cable network Epix, meaning no more blockbusters, such as Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers.
Phillips 66 enjoyed a bit of the Buffett bounce. Shares of the oil refiner surged after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said, it bought a $4.48 billion stake in the company.
And shares of Twitter rose on an analyst upgrade highlighting new monetization efforts, such as eCommerce ads and the launch of the Twitter Audience Platform.
In Europe, stocks closed mixed on China and Fed jitters.
